| dissociative disorder ( n.) | |
|---|---|
| Origin | psychiatric[medical citation needed] |
Dissociative disorders are mental disorders characterized by a disconnect in consciousness, such as changes of identity, memory, and awareness. People with these disorders may escape reality involuntarily, causing disruption and dysfunction in everyday life.
Commonly recognized examples include dissociative amnesia, dissociative identity disorder, and depersonalization-derealization disorder. Specified variant diagnoses include partial dissociative identity disorder and dissociative fugue. Alternate diagnoses in the category are other specified dissociative disorder, unspecified dissociative disorder, and formerly dissociative disorder not otherwise specified. A less-recognized dissociative disorder is maladaptive daydreaming disorder.
